LeBron James Decision: It's the Chicago Bulls or Bust, King

LeBron James, if you are out there, I hope somehow and some way you are able to read this.  What I am about to write is of great significance, and should hold great weight in the decision you make for your future.

For a couple of years now, NBA fans have speculated what these last couple of weeks would be like.  Quite honestly, the hype didn't do the event justice.  The lead up to NBA free agency 2010 has been one of the most epic weeks in professional sports, probably the most intriguing week of 2010. 

Rumors are flying, predictions are being made, and hairs are turning gray all over the country in the anticipation of what could be—what will be. 

Four big names are reportedly off the market as of Wednesday night as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have agreed to join forces in Miami, Carlos Boozer has joined the Chicago Bulls, and Ray Allen has agreed to re-up with the Boston Celtics.

Now that some of the dominoes have fallen, the biggest piece of the free agent market is ready to follow suit. 

LeBron James, the top pick of the 2003 NBA Draft and arguably the most talented player the NBA has ever seen is still up for grabs, and he will make his decision on an hour long special Thursday night on ESPN.

The day has finally come. 

LeBron has hosted six teams who are vying for the chance to sign him:  Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles (Clippers), Miami, and Chicago.  Each team has the ability to offer James a max contract, though the Cavs can offer him an extra year and an extra 29 million dollars.

So where will you land, King James?

Well, you can pretty much rule out the Clippers, but we'll give them a one percent chance at landing the King, because you never say never.  The Clippers just aren't a good market for James, they are a horrid place for him to sell his brand with the popularity of the Lakers.  LeBron would bring a good following to LA, but that's not a good place for him to land.

Thanks for playing, Los Angeles.

The New Jersey Nets are an extremely young, talented team who have a business tycoon and one of LeBron's buddies, Jay-Z, operating the front office.  In all honesty, if the Nets didn't have the worst record in the NBA last year, they might have a better chance in the LeBron sweepstakes. 

Perhaps they do.  For now, we'll give them a five percent chance.

The Knicks have the city of New York to offer LeBron.  Not bad.  They also signed Amar'e Stoudemire, but other than that there's not much to work with on their entire roster.  They simply are not a good team, and they don't offer LeBron much in terms of winning; although, regardless of where he goes, the team will be better instantly. 

In the end, it's not worth it for LeBron to leave Cleveland, a perennial 60 win team, for New York.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I give them a 20 percent chance.

The Miami Heat just got verbal agreements from Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but it's unknown whether the two are taking max deals from their original teams.  If they are, LeBron will have a significantly lower pay check than those two players, though he has indicated that it's not about the money.

Still, playing with two of your buddies who are making a LOT more money than you is not exactly peachy, and there are other factors to consider.  Depending on the status of Chris Bosh, the Heat may only have Wade, Bosh, and Joel Anthony committed to their roster for the 2010 season with nowhere near enough money to sign another max deal.

The way LeBron to Miami works financially is if all three players take roughly $1 million less annually on a max deal.

Sounds great!  Until you look at Miami's roster.  Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley are nothing more than decent NBA players at this point, though they could be made better by the presence of three superstars. 

Still, LeBron will never be more than Alex Rodriguez to Dwyane Wade's Derek Jeter in the city of Miami, another horrible place for him to market his brand.  Miami is a horrid sports city, though the Heat would gain a bunch of bandwagon fans (The Tim Tebow effect).

I give the Heat at this point a 20 percent chance to land LeBron.  They're not completely out of the running, but I don't see it happening. 

The final two teams in the LeBron sweepstakes are Chicago and Cleveland.

Cleveland is LeBron's home.  He has never called a basketball team home outside of the state of Ohio unless you count the USA Olympic squad or his All-Star teams. 

The city of Cleveland, perhaps Ohio sports in general, are reliant upon LeBron James for traffic.  Ohio State will always be popular, but let's face it:  LeBron owns that state in terms of sports.

Quite frankly, they would be devastated if he left. 

The reality is, he very well may. 

Does he use this hour long special to rip out Cleveland's heart, or does he use it to give the city the biggest collective sigh of relief in sports history?

Cleveland fans are nervous, and they should be.  They are a good team with LeBron, but he's a free man and there are better options out there.  Still, their hometown factor is big in this decision in all likelihood, so they have that edge.

I give Cleveland a 24 percent chance of re-signing LeBron.

On to the Bulls, who are my favorites to land LeBron based on pure logic and fact. 

FACT—the Bulls offer THE best way for LeBron to market his brand. 

Chicago is a city rich in basketball prominence (see MJ) where LeBron would be a basketball god.  Not that he won't be popular everywhere, but no other teams under consideration have as popular a basketball team as the Bulls.

FACT—the Bulls offer the best supporting cast. 

This is a close call between them and the Nets, but not really.  Derrick Rose is a budding star.  Joakim Noah has made great strides.  Luol Deng doesn't have to be moved for LeBron to come, Taj Gibson was first team All-Rookie, and Carlos Boozer agreed to join the team on Wednesday evening.

Add LeBron to that mix, and you have—on paper—the best starting five in the NBA.

The Bulls can offer LeBron the best market for his basketball brand, they offer him the best supporting cast, they offer him superb financial stability along with a max contract, and they offer him a ton of extra endorsements based on the popularity of the franchise. 

Not only all of that, but the Bulls were LeBron's favorite team growing up, and MJ was his hero.  LeBron doesn't care about playing in MJ's shadow, he embraces it. 

LeBron and the Bulls makes too much sense to ignore.  If LeBron doesn't sign with the Bulls, I will be quite surprised. 

Mr. James, if you are out there, I hope you realize this as you make your decision.  I'm giving the Bulls a 26 percent chance and the edge in the LeBron sweepstakes. 

Why else would the tax bill on his house be forwarded to Chicago?